In a less politically charged world, the triumvirate of Democratic political leaders in Washington — President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — might now be taking victory laps over one of the most productive two-year sessions in decades.

They have, after all, stormed a city that most people thought of as intractable, inept, and in the pocket of special interests, and defied the odds by delivering major legislation and policy changes on economic stimulus, health-care insurance, consumer credit protection, financial-industry regulation, the conduct of two wars, and much more.

But of course, this is a politically charged world. And, perhaps more importantly, economic recovery remains slow, and unemployment remains high. So, with the midterm elections less than two weeks away, the Obama/Pelosi/Reid trio is suffering slings and arrows from all directions — and all three are, in different ways, fighting for their political lives.

Perhaps it's because the conservative media has whipped up the notion of a socialist takeover. Maybe it's Republicans trying to keep voter attention on Washington Democrats, and not on their own flawed candidates. Or maybe it's just to be expected when you have national elections in the middle of nearly 10-percent unemployment.

Whatever the reason, it is certainly the case that Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are all under assault — and all three could wake up to a radically altered political life on November 3. But what's at stake is very different for each. One is not on the ballot at all. One could be returned to private life. And one could be toppled from power despite winning re-election.

Obama: New directionThe right-wing noise machine has been backing away from its craziest talk about Obama — that he was born in Kenya, that he is a Muslim, or that he hates America, for instance.

That's because they think they have him on the ropes without the nutty talk. Obama's favorability rating has been under 50 percent most of the year. Republicans need only remind people of the struggling economy; despite the administration's claims that things could be much worse, it is clear that growth is not as good as the president and his top economic advisors believed would be the case by now.

And unlike George W. Bush, whose conservative base solidified in the face of opposition criticism, Obama has had trouble with the progressive faithful on his left flank. They are upset with him on a wide range of issues, including his conduct of the Afghanistan War and his failure to close the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay. When Obama campaigned for Deval Patrick in Boston this past weekend — part of his tour of select, mostly solid-blue areas of the country — he was twice interrupted by protestors from the left, complaining about his policies on gay-rights issues.

Obama himself has recently said that he did not do enough to sell his agenda to mainstream Americans. He has actually been surprisingly resilient given the circumstances — while he hasn't regained 50-percent approval, he has generally stayed over 45 percent, despite the discouraging economic news, the massive BP oil spill, and rough reports on the international front.

Democrats against Obama Now that the midterm wipeout has concluded, analysts are already sizing up the GOP challengers to a weakened Barack Obama. Not only that: some Democratic party elders are considering the once-unthinkable scenario of a debilitating challenge to Barack Obama from inside his party.

With friends like these Warren Harding was obviously not one of our greatest presidents. But during his little more than two years in the White House, he did offer some shrewd insights into life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Generation Green Republicans have a lot to say about the immorality of saddling the next generation with our national debt. But when it comes to leaving them a wrecked, depleted, and rapidly warming planet, they are taking the exact opposite line.

How is Obama doing? In response to a question from Oprah Winfrey about how he would grade his time in office, President Barack Obama gave himself a "solid B-plus."

Trying times for Obama It was only a matter of time before President Barack Obama turned into a deficit hawk. But it is a measure of the desperation sparked by Scott Brown's election to Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat that Obama hatched before the conclusion of the 2010 congressional elections and unveiled a spending freeze.

Elephant in the Room Platoons of state Republicans, energized by Scott Brown's stunning victory over Democrat Martha Coakley last week, are setting their sights on November.

Might as well jump Last Thursday, Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island — the last of his legendary clan in Congress — announced that he will not run for re-election.

The Big Ligotti Like his homeboy Scott Brown, Boston's elephant in the room is poised to make noise beyond Massachusetts

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AFTER MARKEY, GET SET, GO | February 20, 2013 It's a matter of political decorum: when an officeholder is running for higher office, you wait until the election has been won before publicly coveting the resulting vacancy.